King Mohammed
VI has appointed Amal El Fallah Seghrouchni as the new Minister Delegate to the
Head of Government in charge of Digital Transition and Administrative Reform. She
takes over from outgoing minister Ghita Mezzour, marking a new chapter in
Morocco’s strategic focus on advancing its digital economy and governmental
reforms.
Amal El Fallah Seghrouchni’s
appointment is seen as a key move in Morocco’s ambition to solidify its
position as a leader in the digital space, especially in the fields of
artificial intelligence (AI) and technology-driven governance. With a decorated
academic and professional background, she brings a wealth of experience to the
role, ensuring Morocco’s digital future remains in capable hands.
Prior to her
ministerial appointment, Madam Seghrouchni served as the Executive President of
the International Center of Artificial Intelligence of Morocco (ICAIM) at
Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in Rabat. Under her stewardship, ICAIM, also
known as the Ai movement, was granted UNESCO’s Center of Category II status for
the African region, highlighting Morocco's rise as an emerging hub for AI
development and innovation.
She also holds
an exceptional class professorship at the prestigious Sorbonne University in
Paris and serves as the Principal Investigator of the Thales Endowed Chair of
Excellence in Hybrid AI for Cognitive Radars at Sorbonne University’s Abu Dhabi
Center of Artificial Intelligence.
Her academic
achievements are extensive with a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Pierre and
Marie Curie University (Paris 6) and a Habilitation to Advise Research (HDR) in
Artificial Intelligence from Sorbonne Paris Nord University. Her work in
Distributed Artificial Intelligence and Multi-Agent Systems has earned her
international recognition, including being elected as the General Chair of the
prestigious International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent
Systems (AAMAS) in 2020.
Throughout her
career, Amal El Fallah Seghrouchni has led numerous research initiatives and
collaborations with leading global institutions such as the National Institute
of Informatics in Tokyo, the University of Veracruz in Mexico, PUC RIO in
Brazil, and the Politehnica University of Bucharest in Romania. She has
supervised 35 doctoral students and authored over 200 research papers, further
solidifying her status as a global leader in AI research.
In addition to
her roles in academia and research, Seghrouchni serves on UNESCO’s World
Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology (COMEST) and is
a member of UNESCO’s Expert Group on AI and the Futures of Learning. Her
inclusion in such global platforms highlights her commitment to shaping the
future of AI in a responsible and inclusive manner.
By: Nana Appiah Acquaye
